The Transport Minister has held high level meetings with senior officials in his Department this week in an attempt to ‘quickly resolve’ the ongoing impasse surrounding the Shannon Heritage sites.
Eamon Ryan has been facing questioning about the matter at the Oireachtas Transport Committee.
Negotiations between Clare County Council and the Government hit a snag in December, when the State offered just €2.5 million of the Council’s €15 million request.
The Council says it can’t proceed with the transfer of the sites until the funding gap is met, claiming they need ‘real and meaningful support’ from the Cabinet table.
An interdepartmental working group on the matter – made up of officials from the Departments of Local Government & Heritage, Transport, Public Expenditure and Tourism – has met five times, most recently on the 23rd of January.
Addressing questioning from Clare Fianna Fail TD Cathal Crowe, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan says the final figures need to be audited before they’re agreed upon.
The facilities are currently closed for three days a week until the end of March, with concerns being voiced among workers that the situation could end up dragging on once again into the spring and summer months.
A potential solution that’s been suggested in some quarters could involve a combination of Government funding and a further use of other assets currently within the Group’s portfolio.
However, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan is dismissing that idea, saying the overall amount relating cost of the transfer needs to be resolved.
